How to write a bio about yourself or someone else

Writing a good bio isn’t that hard. This is great news because everyone needs a decent bio. But since most folks find the process rather intimidating, I’m going to share some basic how-to’s that have worked well for my students.

In my writing classes, the first assignment is usually the bio. Most students groan because they worry about sounding like show-offs. Even worse — they dread writing A Boring Bio.

There’s nothing to fear if you remember to be your natural, wonderful self. In other words, be real. If you stay genuine in word and tone, the bio will be terrific.

How will you use your bio?

When you write articles or guest blog posts, publications and websites usually run a blurb about you at the end of the piece.

You’ll definitely need a bio for that day when you’re being introduced during an event, speaking engagement or performance. An emcee might read your bio out loud or organizers might print it in the program.

A bio is also essential for networking websites like LinkedIn.

You’ll also need an author’s bio for that book you’ll write someday. :)

Let’s start by writing a basic bio

Trying to be clever is very stressful. So forget about that.

Just relax. The goal is to write in a way that’s simple, clear and informative. Remind yourself that this particular bio is just for now. You might change it again tomorrow or in a year. The bio changes as you grow.

Begin by taking stock of your life and jotting down the following:

Your full name

Where you were born, where you live or have lived

Where you went to school and the dates of attendance and graduation

Where you work or have worked

Awards and other accomplishments

Your age

Your hobbies and passions

Organizations you have joined in the past or belong to now

Once you have these essentials down, start prioritizing. There might be facts that you want to keep private. Or maybe, you feel they’re not relevant to your basic bio. It’s time to pick and choose.

Next, decide what kind of bio you’re writing.

Three types of bios

What kind of bio do you need? Most people have several different bios. It all depends on the occasion.

1. The bio blurb is just a paragraph or two. Keep it brief, like the two-line bio and short-to-medium bios on my about me page for this blog.

2. The comprehensive bio is the other extreme. For a look at this type of bio, go to the encyclopedia website Wikipedia and search for someone important and/or famous. These Wikpedia entries are usually loooong and detailed.

3. The typical bio is a summary. This bio is fairly short and concise. It highlights information you consider important.

A bio reflects your vision of you

You might know Steve Martin as a Hollywood actor who starred in a bunch of comedies. But he’s also a writer. In 2010, he published a novel, An Object of Beauty, and wanted it to be taken seriously. So on the flap inside of the book jacket, he included a very serious bio:

Steve Martin is a legendary writer, actor, and performer. His film credits include “Father of the Bride,” “Parenthood,” “The Spanish Prisoner,” and “Bringing Down the House” as well as “Roxanne,” “L.A. Story,” and “Bowfinger,” for which he also wrote the screenplays. He has won an Emmy for his television writing and Grammy awards both for his comedy albums and his work on the banjo. In addition to a play, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” he has written a bestselling collection of comic pieces, “Pure Drivel;” a bestselling novella, “Shopgirl,” which was adapted into a movie; and a children’s book, “Late for School.” Martin’s pieces appear frequently in The New Yorker and the New York Times. His album, “The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo,” won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2010.

Notice that he omitted personal information. He wants us to view him as an intellectual and artiste.

Keep the tone conversational

Steve Martin’s bio is rather stuffy and dull. That’s fine, though, because it suits his goals. He’s not going for laughs here.

But let’s say I needed a short summary about Steve Martin for some sort of piece I’m writing. Let’s also say that it has to be 100 words or less. Right now, his bio is already 134 words and only covers career highlights. How am I going to create a fuller picture of Steve Martin without going over my 100-word count?

To create the revised bio, I pulled in stuff about his personal life, cut out some work details and sequenced the information differently:

Hollywood funny man Steve Martin, 69, is best known for box office hits like “Father of the Bride,” “Parenthood” and “Roxanne.” He is also an award-winning writer and musician with an Emmy for television writing and Grammy awards for both his comedy albums and an album about the banjo. His books include “Shopgirl,” which was adapted into a movie. His articles have appeared in The New Yorker and the New York Times. The Texas native grew up in in California, where he attended UCLA but never graduated. He and his wife, Anne Stringfield, are parents of a two-year-old child.

The additional information in the bio is from his Wikipedia entry. But be warned — Wikipedia is a great reference but it gets things wrong. So if I was really going to use this revised Steve Martin bio for something, I would double check all the details for accuracy.

I also wanted my Steve Martin bio to be more reader-friendly. For that, I needed what’s called a conversational tone — a tone that sounds like I’m in a conversation with my readers and not talking AT them. Short sentences feel conversational. But the real test of conversationality? For that, I had to read the rewritten bio out loud several times. Whenever I stumbled over a sentence, I knew it needed tweaking. I kept tweaking until I felt like I was talking his bio rather than reading it.

Variations on the basic bio

You need bios of different lengths. Having different bios is like having different outfits to wear for different occasions. Thanks to advice from Joan Stewart, an online publicity coach who specializes in working with authors and writers, I’ve just re-done the about me section on this blog.

You’ll find four versions of my bio, all on one page. They range from a two-liner that is 27 words long to a short bio (59 words), medium bio (76 words) and long bio (286 words). The reason? When the media calls asking for an interview or someone wants me to give a talk somewhere, the first thing people ask for is a bio.

If it’s a radio show and there’s only two seconds to describe who I am, they’ll use the two-liner. If there’s more room, they will take one of the longer bios.

inspiration & useful information

Welcome to my blog about finding happiness on my own terms. I'm the journalArtist™ -- a journalist who writes, draws & paints. My home is in the suburbs; I share it with my teen daughter & 3 cats. But I grew up in NYC, where I still work as a university professor & media trainer. If you subscribe to my blog, I'll send an email alert when I've got a new post. xo

Joanna, thanks for stopping by. I like the four bios approach too. As I mentioned, it wasn’t my idea but Joan Stewart’s. She is such a pro. Btw, I found her through Joel Friedlander’s blog, thebookdesigner.com. I’m thrilled that he’s recommending this bio-writing post to his readers!

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